


More than Gold

by antivillain (museofspeed)



Category: The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 06:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13070823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/museofspeed/pseuds/antivillain
Summary: Chel, Miguel, and Tulio navigate their new relationship in the streetsandin the sheets.





	More than Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! Hope you're having an amazing holiday. And thank you to my betas, who shall remain as anonymous as I am for the time being.

“You gave me _loaded dice?_ ” Tulio shouts, giving Miguel an affronted look. “How could you?”

As always, his shouts, and Miguel’s responses drew everyone’s attention, everyone too frozen in fascination to look away or arrest them. 

But they had a secret weapon this time. Chel, dressed in her brand new and far too confining Spanish dress, casually sweeping their winnings into a bag. She ignored the fight. She’d seen it before a thousand times. She knew how it ended. 

She slipped out the back door, catching Miguel’s eye as she did. He didn’t react, but he’d seen. 

There was a straw-filled cart in the back, hitched to Altivo and waiting for her. 

“Hey there, boy,” She paused just long enough to feed Altivo an apple and pet his nose. “Ready?”

The horse whinnied approvingly. She smiled and buried the bag of money under the straw, then slung herself up into the driver’s seat. “Our boys should be here in three… two… one…” she heard a thump in the back of the cart and flicked the reins. “Let’s _go!_ ”

“You got the gold?” Tulio asked, leaning up next to her. 

“Of course I got the gold, who do you think I am?” She gave him a sidelong grin. 

“How did we ever function without you?” Miguel asked, coming up on her other side. 

“If I recall, without me you ended up accidentally stowing away on a ship, tossed in the brig, then shipwrecked.” She let the reins fall into her lap so she could sling an arm over both of them. Altivo was a smart horse. He knew the way. “So what I’m saying is, you _didn’t_ function.”

Miguel and Tulio made eye contact over her head, then nodded. 

“Well, yeah, I suppose,” Miguel said. 

“Fair point, fair point,” Tulio said. 

 

Their first night in Spain, when Tulio had spent ten minutes moving two carrots and a green bean around as he tried to figure out what sleeping arrangements they should make. A room for each of them seemed like too many, but if they only got two rooms, who should stay with who? He'd always shared a room with Miguel in the past, and maybe Chel would like her privacy, but also he _really_ wanted to have some privacy with Chel himself. So maybe _he_ and Chel should share, but then Miguel would be lonely. Or Miguel and Chel could share, but then _Tulio_ would be alone and grumpy about it even if it had been his idea. He was almost finished with an elaborate plan that involved Tulio sharing a room with Chel and Miguel sharing a room with Altivo when Chel came up to him, shoved the vegetables off the table, and dragged him and Miguel to the _single_ room she'd reserved.

"This is just easier," she said. "Why complicate things?"

But it _was_ complicated. When Chel and Miguel first kissed, Tulio sat back in the bed, not sure precisely what the torrent of emotions inside him was trying to say. There was a part of him that was twisted up in jealousy, but he couldn't quite decide which one he was jealous of. There was another part of him that couldn't deny just how _hot_ it all was. 

The bad feelings eventually melted away when they turned towards him. Miguel kissed him while Chel came around behind him and tugged his shirt down so she could get at his shoulders. And suddenly, he started to see a lot more benefit to this arrangement.

 

"We're rich!" Chel had barely been able to wait until they were back in their room before giggling and falling to the bed, clutching the bag full of their take to her chest. "So much _money!_ "

"Open it, _open it!_ " Miguel bounced next to her, giving his wide-eyed, open grin. If she didn't know him so well already, she'd have said he looked innocent.

Chel dumped the coins on the bed. "There you go."

Tulio held up a handful, bringing it to his face. "It's so… _beautiful._ "

"We should celebrate!" Miguel said, standing up. "Let's go out and _spend_ some of it!"

"Oh no," Tulio turned, frowning sharply at Miguel. "Last time you said that, we ended up spending _all_ of it and we were back to nothing."

"Oh, come on!" Miguel pouted, eyes going big and wide. "It'll be _fun…_ "

Tulio sighed. "Not the _face…._ "

Chel stood, giving Tulio an amused look. "You know you're gonna say yes. You never can resist that face."

"Oh, like you're any better," Tulio said. He glanced at Miguel, who was, indeed, still making the face. "Oh, _fine._ But we're saving some for later! Really, this time!"

Miguel grinned and threw his arms around Tulio's waist. "Yes! This is _just_ what we need, you'll see."

 

Learning to share Tulio with Chel had been its own trial for Miguel. Welcoming her into their bed had been fairly easy. Welcoming her into their partnership? Well, that was a little harder. They were Miguel and Tulio. They had a thousand plays, and Chel didn't _know_ them.

When he tried to explain that to her, she laughed in his face.

It turned out she was a natural, which really shouldn't have surprised them. She could slip into a thousand different roles or shed all of them to become practically invisible. No one noticed her when she didn't want to be noticed, which was surprising considering how stunning she was. She could use that to her advantage too, of course. When she _wanted_ people to notice her, they damn well did. She was beautiful, confident, alluring, and far more comfortable being scantily clad than most Spaniards. She was _amazing._

It turned out scams were much _better_ with a third partner. Especially one who wasn't already a wanted criminal.

_Miguel and Tulio and Chel_ had a pretty good ring to it too.

 

They staggered back to the inn together, the three of them, leaning against each other and holding each other up.

"So much money… gone..." Tulio moaned. "I told you this would happen."

"But you had _fun,_ " Miguel said cheerily, helping Chel to lower Tulio to the bed.

"The money would have been fun too." Tulio flopped back, covering his face with his hands. "Why do I ever listen to you?"

Chel pressed a kiss to his cheek, lying next to him and sliding a hand up his chest. "Don't worry, we'll get more. We always do." 

"I want more _now._ " Despite the grumbling, Tulio started to relax at her touch. 

The mattress shifted as Miguel joined them. "I may not be able to give you more _gold,_ " he said, "But I _can_ give you more _fun._ "

Tulio rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the way he was reacting to their touches. "You two are _impossible,_ " he said.

"Yeah." Chel grinned, tugging up his shirt for better access. "But you love us."

Tulio didn't answer, but as soon as she looked away, the dopey grin he gave the two of them told the whole story. It was worth losing all the gold in the world to have the two of them in his life. Every day was an adventure. That mattered more.


End file.
